Teacher talks about difficulty of dealing with often contradictory changes in instructional methods, especially in teaching reading. (PKP)

Compares storytelling and story reading in a study of how children and the adult teller/reader interact. Finds that collaboration between storyteller and listener does not manifest itself as readily as between reader and listener. Finds that most of the children prefer teachers to read rather than tell stories. (MG)

Describes children's software programs that allow for a great deal of choice and control by children. Programs were selected on the basis of their design, child orientation, and ability to amuse. (RJC)

The influence of organizational cues on story comprehension was investigated for seven and eight year olds (N=44 British primary school students). Subjects were matched in age and decoding skills, but differed in comprehension ability. Results shed light on cognitive control required to select and coordinate information in text. (TJH)

Discusses the ways in which poetry can be used to highlight literary aspects of children's books, such as characterization, locale, mood and archetypes. Suggestions are offered for the selection and use of poetry by teachers and librarians. (23 references) (CLB)

Finds that each of six kindergarten teachers had a distinctive storybook reading style, varying in each of three major facets of style: focus of teacher talk during reading, type of information talked about during the reading, and instructional strategies used. (SR)

Preschoolers completed stories about fear, anger, sadness, happiness, and surprise by explaining why a protagonist felt a particular emotion or what the protagonist did when he felt the emotion. Children distinguished causes from consequences for most emotions. Accuracy was not increased when an emotion was specified by a facial expression rather…

Provides a case study of a young child's responses to "Hansel and Gretel" over a four-year period, providing insight as to how literary response develops in the early years. (MG)

Discusses how storytelling can be used as an effective way of developing literacy for preschool children who are deaf or hard of hearing. A sample lesson illustrates how themes from children's books can lead to a myriad of topics touching a variety of content areas. (CR)

Analyzes the structure of argumentative discourse produced when small groups of children discuss issues raised by stories they have read, examining the discourse from story discussions in two fourth-grade classrooms. Compares and contrasts two approaches of representing the structure of classroom arguments (the argument network and the causal…

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Preschool Services and the Parent Education Committee compiled a list of recommended books (published between 1993 and 1997) appropriate for use in group settings with children between the ages of 18 and 36 months. Bibliographic information and a short description are provided for each title.…

Includes edited versions of four presentations on library services for homeless children originally given at the 1993 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. Topics addressed include story times at homeless shelters and juvenile halls for teenaged felons; giveaway books; identifying needs; funding sources; and Reading Is Fundamental…

Using a comprehension-monitoring model, 192 skilled and less skilled readers from 3rd and 6th grade read stories containing inconsistent information. Half of the students constructed a storyboard representation of the stories and half only read the text. Results reveal that storyboard construction enhanced the integration of text propositions and…

Twenty children with autism, ages 3 to 6 years, received either massage therapy or reading attention by their parents for 15 minutes daily for one month. Evaluation suggested that children in the massage group exhibited less stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and social relatedness behavior during play observations at school, and they…

Examines parents' verbal and affective interactions with their first-grade children during shared storybook reading and how these interactions relate to growth in children's reading activity and achievement. Results reveal that affective quality was an important contributor to children's reading of challenging materials in third grade but not to…